About Me

I am the proud mother of 6 children. 5 of our children have autism. We do not feel our world has ended, but just begun. We do not chelate, intervene biochemically, give shots of any kind, practice ABA, etc.
We treat them as we treat any humanbeing. We treat them with kindness and respect and expect the same from them.
They are exceptional children.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The World According to Deirdre....

Our second born child was almost too perfect from the day she was born. She came into the world, very quietly, in a birthing center. No drugs, no screaming....just water and a tub. I labored quietly for 6 hours. It was very calm. Deirdre slept through the night the first day she was born. I liked that. The midwives do not. They wanted me to wake her up, during the night, and feed her. I obliged. Deirdre also did not scream. Our first born was constantly screaming. Not Deirdre, she actually cooed very early. By 6 months, she was talking. REALLY. She was always a bit quirky, but not enough to make us worried. You know, the facial twitches, the flicking of the fingers, the awkward social demonstrations. We just thought she was different. When our 3rd daughter was 6 years old, they sent home a questionaire about Asperger's for her. As I read through the questionaire, it dawned on me that this was not Erin at all....IT WAS DEIRDRE. Wow, how did we go 9 years and not realize she was autistic?

We were used to a certain kind of autism, not Asperger's.

We had a pediatric neurologist give her a proper diagnosis, but we were still stunned. Then it hit us, "Why not Deirdre?" We had already had 4 others diagnosed by then. Why wouldn't she have autism also? It did not change who she was the past 9 years, it just helped us better understand why she did certain things. Asperger's did not define Deirdre, it just put a footnote on who she is. Deidre is: Greek Mythology-She won a National contest last year(no big surprise) Egyptian Mythology Violin Greenday-I still have no idea who they are... The Democratic Party-yes, 2 Republican's can breed a Democrat World Peace Green Peace Blue Jeans and Tee shirts every day of the week

I can honestly say that Deirdre has never given us one bit of trouble. She has been mellow and sweet her whole life. She has found a circle of friends who are a bit like her. A bit off the beaten path. I like these people..they don't let people make them anything they are not. Not too easy for 7th Graders. Such mature guys. I wish I had that ability as a middle-schooler. Would have saved years of angst.

Deirdre is going to go far in life. She knows this and reminds me often...I do not let her know that I already figured that out.